"...Huh?"
I suddenly realized I'd spoken aloud. What was that? What's wrong with me? I don't understand. But something inside me had shifted—no, changed. What exactly had changed? The thought was so unexpected that I stopped dead in my tracks.
"Kanata, is something wrong?"
"Eh, no. Nothing's wrong, sis."
"Oh, okay. You're acting weird, Kanata."
The young girl who had been laughing softly at me stopped suddenly and gently took my hand. I was deeply surprised by this action, which had always been so ordinary before. This is strange. There's no reason for such a young girl to take my hand—no, wait, she's my sister, isn't she? Being led by her hand should be natural for someone my age...
At that moment, my thoughts stopped again.
I felt a sense of urgency and anxiety that I couldn't understand. Fear, but at the same time, a part of me insisted that this situation was normal. Even the height of my gaze as I walked down the street felt strange. I felt like my eyes used to be higher.
"Sis, is my name Kanata?"
"What kind of question is that? Yes, I'm your older sister, and you're my younger brother."
"...How old are you again?"
"What's wrong with you? Let me see... I'm eleven, and you're four years younger than me, so you're seven."
"Did we have any other siblings? Like an older brother?"
"Stop it, Kanata! It's just the four of us—Mom, Dad, you, and me! Or are you saying you wanted to be my older brother instead?"
Seeing my sister sulking, I hurriedly denied it. She's always been moody like this. ...That's right, I know her. Our family structure is exactly as she said. Then why do I feel so uncomfortable?
Why didn't I have a sister? Why do I feel like I should have had an older brother? From the moment I was born, she was always by my side. I remember everything from the past seven years. Of course, I don't remember much from before kindergarten.
"...Did I even think this much when I was this age?"
At seven years old, I was probably in first or second grade. My mother used to laugh and tell stories about me and my brother when we were drinking, saying that children that age were like aliens. Wait, wait, wait.
...Hey, what's with that memory? I'm only seven years old—there's no way I could have been at a drinking party. You have to be 20 to drink alcohol, otherwise it's bad for your health. No, why do I know that? I'm Sota, I shouldn't know that. The fact that I knew something I shouldn't know sent a chill down my spine.
"Sota, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. But I'll rest a bit when we get home."
"Alright, I'll tell Mom for you."
What a nice older sister. She's so different from that idiot older brother who dragged me along to soccer just to make up the numbers even though I was tired.
...There it goes again. I covered my mouth in disgust at the mismatched memories, feeling guilty for making my sister panic. We hurried home.
***
"The Kamakura Shogunate was 'established,' right? Wait, I think that changed. Ah, but that doesn't mean I know about the big earthquakes and disasters that happened in modern times. Actually, why does a seven-year-old like me know about the Kamakura Shogunate and modern disasters?"
I lay down on the bed and, while my sister wasn't in the room, I borrowed her history textbook and flipped through it.
The content was supposed to be new to me, yet it felt familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before. This hadn't happened yesterday. Something had definitely happened on my way home from school. The discrepancy between the dates I knew and the dates in the textbook, the disasters I didn't know about. When I borrowed my sister's math textbook, I felt a strange sense of nostalgia. Half-believing, half-doubting, I tried solving the problems in the textbook using the back of a piece of origami paper I had nearby, and to my surprise, I could solve them.
Needless to say, I was even more confused.
"First of all, it's strange that I can read a history textbook. There are so many kanji characters I haven't learned. Yet I can read them and understand their meaning..."
It was creepy. That was my honest feeling. If I could just be happy that I was a genius, I would feel much better. It would certainly be convenient. But I knew that this situation was abnormal. I understood it. I even felt uncomfortable with my own ability to think calmly about it.
"...Well, the most uncomfortable thing is whatever it is inside my body."
I gently stroked my chest with my hand. As much as my head, the thing that felt most uncomfortable was something inside my body. The more I calmed down, the more uncomfortable it became. This was definitely my body. But it felt like there was something foreign inside me. That was the most disgusting thing of all.
I wanted to throw it up. I thought that might improve this incomprehensible state of affairs. But I couldn't throw up in the room I shared with my sister. I didn't want to worry her, and I didn't want her to see me like that. Once I made up my mind, I got out of bed.
"Ah, Kanata. Are you okay?"
"Sis, yeah. I feel a little better, so I'm going outside to clear my head."
As I left the room and went down the stairs, I ran into my sister, who looked worried. I couldn't honestly tell her I was going outside to vomit.
"Should I come with you?"
"No, this is a matter of male dignity."
"What...? Is it something important?"
"Yes, it's important for men."
"Oh, I see. It's what we learned about puberty in school, right? Got it!"
The word 'puberty' is amazing. I'm only seven years old. And sis, is it okay to just accept that?
"Um, okay, I'm going then."
"Yeah, but you have to be back by five o'clock. Also, it's a rule in the Kuramoto family that you have to tell us where you're going."
"Haha, right. There's a small square surrounded by trees near the factory, right? I'll go there."
"That place doesn't have many people, does it? It's not well-maintained, so the grass is all over the place."
"I just want to relax and look at the sky in a place where no one is around."
"Hmm, if anything happens, shout as loud as you can. And make sure to run away. Got it?"
"Yeah, I got it."
I found her overprotective, but at the same time, I smiled at her efforts to be a responsible older sister. Just yesterday, I felt both happy and annoyed by her overprotectiveness. Shrugging off my own condescending thoughts, I straddled the bicycle parked beside the house. I'd been to the square a few times before, so I should know the way. Visualizing the map in my head, I pedaled away.
Second grade elementary school student. Currently seven years old. I'm going out to clear my head.
***
"Well, I tried several times, but it didn't work."
As usual, I arrived at the empty square and went further into the back to do what I had to do, coughing violently. However, there was no sign of anything coming out of my body. I tried to stimulate my nose with the grass growing around me, coughing hard, but to no avail. I didn't have the courage to put my hand or grass in my mouth, so I didn't vomit. I felt really bad about getting my clothes dirty.
"But what should I do now?"
I put my hand on my chin and sat down on a nearby railing. The strange feeling inside my body still hadn't gone away. Maybe I should see a doctor. But until yesterday, I didn't really understand it, but I felt like this feeling was normal. In other words, at the same time that I suddenly became smarter, I started to feel uncomfortable about this. It's as if this thing was never meant to be part of the human body.
"...Should I just scream? Like, go all out?"
I clenched my fists and looked around. It would be embarrassing if someone saw me. If it was someone I knew, it would be a black mark on my record. This was near a factory, so the noise of the machines would probably drown out my screams. This place was deserted because it was so noisy. I checked my surroundings carefully, stood up from the railing I had been leaning on, and took a deep breath.
I'll try using my whole body, not just my voice. I'll spread my legs wide, plant my feet firmly on the ground, and thrust my hands forward. That feels like something might come out. But then I realized what I was going to scream. My feet are braced, my hands are thrust forward. And then, a loud voice. Somehow, a scene from an anime I watched last night comes to mind. I can't think of what to shout, and it's embarrassing, but as a guy, I want to say this out loud at least once. I nodded to myself, deciding this was good enough.
I take a deep breath. If I'm going to do something, I should do it all the way. Then, I'll give it my all. Take this, you meaningless thing inside me! And get out! With my scream!
"Take this, Dragon Wave!"
With all my strength, my movements and voice echoed throughout the square.
...No, no, no, wait, wait, wait! What is a Dragon Wave? Isn't it a Kamehameha Wave? Such a cheesy name for a move straight out of an anime... and what the hell is "Drag Soball" supposed to mean?! What kind of anime with that title is so popular among kids?! Who's the protagonist?! It's supposed to be a Chinese-sounding name, but it's super Japanese!!
The inner voice in my head was louder than my screams. When I opened my eyes, for some reason my body was glowing. I shouldn't have been surprised by the anime name, but I just couldn't help it! I didn't even know who I was trying to justify myself to, but the sudden brightness blinded me, and I instinctively closed my eyes. My breath stopped for a moment.
The next thing I knew, I heard a metallic clanging sound like something rolling across the ground. When I cautiously opened my eyes, I saw a single red-glowing spear. It wasn't a toy—its appearance, its very presence, seemed to scream at me that it was the real thing.
Honestly, I didn't understand what was happening. Yet, I felt that the spear was mine. It felt like a part of me that had been with me all along. At the same time, I realized that the uneasy feeling I had been carrying inside me had completely vanished. After touching my body to make sure everything was there, I cautiously looked at the spear again.
For some reason, I instinctively felt that the source of that uneasy feeling was this spear. What a fool, I thought, but at the same time, my body seemed to accept it before my mind did. It's okay to touch this. This is my other half. Even though there was no basis for it.
I reached out my hand. Maybe I was captivated by the red glow. Maybe I wasn't thinking at all. Still, I didn't stop. When I was about to touch it, I hesitated for a moment, but then I made up my mind and grabbed the red spear with both hands.
"――!"
Suddenly, I heard a voice that echoed in my brain. It was mechanical, yet somehow seemed to have a will of its own. I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. There were so many things I didn't understand. But I had obtained the answers to the true nature of this spear, who I was, and what this world was.
The crimson spear—the moment I touched the sacred artifact, knowledge flooded into my mind. I didn't know anything about this spear itself. But I knew about the sacred artifacts, the other races that exist besides humans, and the horror of this world. I had no idea why I knew these things. But the knowledge was real, proven by the harsh reality around me. The missing pieces, the scattered knowledge, began to form a coherent whole within me. Once I realized it and accepted it, it was simple. I am Kuramoto Sota. But I also possess the memories and knowledge of another person.
I am me, but this might be what they call memories from a previous life. The anxiety that had finally been resolved spread into relief.
At the same time, a dry smile appeared on my face. This is seriously bad. This is seriously dangerous. I know this world. And I have read a fan fiction novel set in this world in my previous life. I even have memories of enjoying it. But why me? Why this world of all places?
I don't know any characters named Kuramoto Sota. I've never seen such a sacred treasure before. In other words, I'm a character who doesn't appear in the original work. If this were a normal manga, I would have been happy. As a background character, I might have had the option of staying safe by not getting involved with the original characters. But in this original work... background characters die left and right. Even ordinary people die without warning. If you have a sacred treasure, the danger level skyrockets. Original characters are also in danger, but at least they can make some predictions and prepare to escape or accept their fate.
But unfortunately, I'm a mob character. I could be killed at any moment by the original story's background or the state of the world. This is a world where even if I'm killed tomorrow, I can't even complain because it's so unkind to mob characters. What kind of world is this, where a novel with a harem comedy about beautiful girls has the habit of using erotic elements like poking nipples to power up? They favor the main characters too much! Be nicer to the ordinary people and the mob!
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is it some kind of ability to disappear, like the name and color suggest? What kind of incestuous demon lord and switch princess is this?!"
Is this strong? Can I survive in this world? I might get attacked by the old demon lord faction just because their colors and abilities annoy me! Those guys would totally do that! Plus, since I have a divine artifact, I might end up reincarnated as a demon, killed by a fallen angel, brainwashed by the church, or recruited by a terrorist organization... all of that could happen!
"Damn it, God! Oh, God is dead. At least let me be an ordinary person without the sacred treasure... but even that's scary, like being a stray demon or something. But getting involved with the original story is also scary. What is this seriously dangerous world...?"
I knelt down on the ground, feeling helpless. I hoped it was a mistake, but it seemed like Kuramoto Sota had been reincarnated. Into the world of "High School D×D," a demonic realm inhabited by many races.